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Hi, I found a couple of similar threads here, but no resolution.
On the MB Merit Badge Counselor search form, please add the ability to filter by troop number.
I can and have used the Roster Report Builder to build a report to list all the MBCs and merit badges they teach in our troop, but the output is difficult to generate a simple list of all MBCs for a particular merit badge.
The number 1 question I am asked by scouts (in my role) is “Who is a merit badge counselor in our troop for X merit badge”. Would be nice for the form to generate that list.
We are a large troop and our policy is to direct Scouts to in-troop MBCs when they are available.
We maintain a separate list, since we have also had to verify other non-BSA training requirements for our unit scouters.
That said, I didn’t have too much trouble extracting lists of the merit badges from the Roster Builder Report CSV export. You can do a separation of the data in the Merit Badges column into separate columns, then manipulate that data, or use a search function (e.g. using index() and match()) to return all of the names that counsel a particular badge. It’s not for a novice spreadsheet programmer, but it’s not a terribly heavy lift for someone who’s familiar with the technology.
Frankly, just manually generating the list once, then “maintaining” it periodically based on a cross-check of the Roster Builder report is pretty straightforward. That’s the bulk of how I maintain ours.
I am driving the troop leadership to use Scoutbook as the single source of truth rather than trying to maintain an external database like we used to do.
The Roster Builder report works fine but it dumps all the merit badges into a single field. I played around with Excel and was able to use Text to Columns and Transpose to break it out by merit badge but it was quite a bit of hassle.
Currently I just use Roster Builder and Ctrl+F in the browser to search for a specific merit badge. This does work also but then I have to do multiple highlght-copy-pastes to get the list of MBCs.
Thanks,
The troop number is output by Roster Builder so I assume this should be easily searchable by the MB search function.
Merit Badge Counselor is NOT a unit position. They are registered with a Council or District. There is not an MBC search by unit for this reason.
If you want to know which of your members is also registered as an MBC and which MBs they council, use Roster Builder Manager, create a new Roster, select all the adults and turn on Show Merit Badges.
Yes, I am aware of how to use the Roster Builder Manger, and it is good, but has limitations. As I said previously, the Roster Builder is less optimal to deal with when searching your troop for an MBC for a specific merit badge. Reformatting the RB output to be a list by badge is tedious.
Since the troop number is in the database (it is output on the Roster Builder Report) then it should be searchable with the MBC search.
We always direct Scouts to MBCs within our troop first, and only resort to external resources when one is not available internally.
So, my request continues to be to modify the MBC search function to add the ability to search by troop number in addition to zip code.
This would give us the desired information without having to massage the Roster Builder Manager output to generate a list by badge.
Lots of people have commented that MBCs are not Unit Positions. This has nothing to do with my request to locate MBCs for specific merit badges in my troop.
Scouts are not running this search - generally I am as the MBC Dean. In our troop, Scouts are expected to go to the our Advancment person and get a blue card, and then go to the Scoutmaster to get it signed. Then they come to me to find a MBC.
We are a large troop and have many MBCs. All Eagle-required badges are covered in our troop. Our policy is to direct Scouts to MBCs in our troop first, and only if one is not available do we send them outside the troop.
Other leaders also sometimes want this information and in the past the last MBC Dean maintained a separate list in Excel. I am directing everyone to Scoutbook to eliminate this redundant and potentially inaccurate piece of effort.
The Roster Report Builder is great and works OK. You can run it and hit Ctrl+F and type in the name of the merit badge you want and cycle through the hits easy enough.
It would be nicer, though, if I could query for specific merit badge, like the MB Search Report does, with the simple added filter of troop number.
We are getting into policy interpretation at this point, which is not allowed in these forums. I’d suggest that you reach out to your council and see if they agree with you. If they do, ask them to put the request in to national.
